Sanitary tooth cleaning pad



INVENTOR Robert D. Larln BY ATTORNEY Oct. 17, 1939.

R. D. LARKIN SANITARY TOOTH CLEANING PAD Filed Oct'. 8,

Patented Oct. 17, 1939 PATENT OFFICE SANITARY TOOTH CLEANING PAD Robert D. Larkin, Waterbury, Conn.

Application October 8,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to tooth cleaning and gum massaging devices, and more particularly to a dental pad containing dentifrice and adapted to be applied by means of the users fingers.

5 One object of this invention is to provide a sanitary dentall pad of the above nature which is adapted to be packed in a fiat condition ready for use in a sealed dustproof envelope.

A further object is to provide a dental pad which may be used in place of a tooth brush by house guests or when traveling, thus avoiding the inconvenience of carrying tooth brushes, tubes and bottles of dentifrice.

Another object is to provide a tooth cleaning 16 pad of the above nature, comprising a pair of sheets, one of which may be readily stripped from the other, exposing a sufficient amount of dentifrice for one mouth cleaning operation-the stripped sheet also retaining sufficient dentifrice 20 thereon for a subsequent mouth cleansing application, and being intended to be folded up for use at a later time.

A still further object is to provide a sanitary dental pad of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, readily manipulated, compact, and very emcient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view there have been illustrated'on the accompanying drawing several forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the first form of dental pad comprising a pair of adhering sheets, the upper sheet being shown stripped at one corner from the lower sheet to expose the circular central mass of dentifrice disposed therebetween.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a modified form of the invention in which the pad comprises a folded single sheet having dentifrice between its adjacent adhering portions, one edge of the sheet being bent -away from the other to provide a finger gripping section.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View through the twosheet pad shown in Fig. 1. A

Fig. 4 is a plan view of an envelope in which one of the dental pads is shown outlined by dotted lines.

Fig, 5 is a plan view of another modified form of the inventionthe dental pad being made substantially circular in shape and having dentifrice in paste form disposed throughout the entire areathereof instead of in a single central mass. Fig. 6 is a side edge view of the same on an 1937, Serial No. 167,877

enlarged scale, looking in the direction of arrow 6 in Fig. 5.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like` reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, the improved dental pad shown in Figs. l and 3 comprises a pair of juxtaposed sheets IU and l I, such as gauze, felt, velvet. or other suitable absorbent or partially absorbent material, having a suitable quantity of dentifrice I2 disposed therebetween. Preferably, the sheet material is somewhat porous to permit the dentifrice to adhere thereto and penetrate piu'- tially through the openings therein, which will prevent the exterior of the pad from slipping on the fingers when in use.

The dentifrice is preferably in paste form, and one example of a suitable dentifrice is a mixture of `French chalk, glycerine and flavoringwthe glycerine acting as a binder for the chalk and causing the paste to adhere to each of the contacting sheets of gauze and detachably unite said sheets. It will be understood, however, that instead of the above mixture of dentifrice, any standard or prescribed dental mixture or medicated paste may be employed, or even tooth powder may be used if it is mixed with a suitable liquid binder.

Operation In order to use the improved dental pad, the house guest or traveler will first separate the sheets I0 and Il to expose the dentifrice, and then wrap one of the sheets partly around his index finger, to which it will readily adhere due to the partial penetration of the dentifrice paste to the outside of said sheet. The sheet may then be rubbed on the teeth to thoroughly cleanse and refresh them, and also on the gums to clean and massage them and stimulate the blood circulation therein. If desired, the sheet may be used edgewise to clean 'between adjacent teeth as a substitute for dental floss.

The dental pads will, of course, be discarded and thrown away after use. The remaining unused sheet, when folded up as shown in Fig. 2, may then be replaced in the envelope I4 for future use.

In Fig. 2 a dental pad is illustrated which is `made of a single sheet having a mass of dentifrice paste at its center and folded, with one edge I3 -raised slightly to facilitate the manual unfolding of the pad to expose the dentifrice for use. The dental' sheet shown in Fig. 2 may be made up specially and sold in the folded condition illustrated, or if desired, the top sheet l() of the first form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 3 may be so folded after it has been stripped from the lower sheet II.

The flat shape of the dental pads of this invention enables them to be conveniently packed in separate envelopes I4, preferably of cellophane" or other dust-proof material as shown in Fig; 4. If desired, suitable advertising inscriptions may be printed on the exterior of the envelope I4.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, instead of using a square dental pad with a central mass of dentifrice, as in Fig. 1, the device comprises two juxtaposed adhering circular sheets I5 and I 6, each having a semi-circular section I'I extending beyond its periphery to form a pair of finger vgripping tabs to facilitate the pulling apart of said sheets I5 .and I6. In this form of the invention, the dentifrice I8 is preferably applied throughout the entire. area of the sheets, except upon the tabs I1, so that all parts of both sheets I5 and I6 of the pad will be effective in cleaning the teeth and massaging the gums.

One advantage of the present dental pads is that the envelope in which they are packed may be dispensed in packages, cartons, slot machines, etc., or may be carried in a traveling bag, a card case, or loosely in the pocket of the user in a sanitary manner Without soiling or contamination.

The sanitary dental pads may, if desired, be

used as a substitute for a tooth brush in the bathroom of a private residence, etc. They Will also be found suitable and convenient for use by travelers away from home in hotels, pullman cars, etc., or for use after meals in restaurants, etc., to refresh the mouth, where it is inconvenient to employ a tooth-brush.

While there have been disclosed in this speciiication, several forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modified and embodied in various other forms Without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all of the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a dental cleansing pad, a pair of juxtaposed sheets of flexible absorbent porous textile fabric material, a mass of sticky pasty dentifrice disposed between said sheets at the central area thereof and penetrating to the exterior thereof lto cause said sheets to cohere with a weak cementing action, and thus permit them to be easily torn apart for use in manually applying either of said sheets to the teeth and gums of the user, the penetration of the dentifrice to the exterior of said sheets causing the sheets to frictionally adhere to the fingers of the user, a portion of the outer edges of said sheets being uncemented to form nger gripping sections to facilitate the separation of said sheets.

2. In a dental cleaning pad, a sheet of absorbent porous fiexible material, one portion of which is folded over upon the other, and a quan tity of `sticky pasty dentifrice interposed between said folded portions to cause them to cohere with a weak 'cementng action, said dentifrice penetrating to the exterior 0f said portions to provide a frictional area adapted to facilitate the rubbing of the teeth and gums by the fingers of theuser, the outer adjacent edges of said folded sheet being uncemented to form finger gripping sections.

ROBERT D. LARKIN. 

